As I’ve endeavored to do so in previous blogs, the dispatch of verbal brilliance which will ensconce your eyeballs and weave it’s dastardly way into your skull will be pretty much be dead on with the general concept, but short on the facts where the details are concerned.
I do this for two different reasons.
The first reason serves purely as an indictment on our political system. Here in the 21st century where news travels as fast as it can be loaded to the internet and the 24 hour new cycle reigns supreme, the bold faced lies which escape the collective pie holes of any politician who displays the audacity to utter them can be fact checked instantaneously. Sadly, the polarized nature of today’s political landscape dictate fact checkers for the fact checkers. The second Presidential debate takes place in about an hour. I expect plenty of concepts to be nailed on the head, and plenty of lies as well.
In honor of the missed pre-debate fact checking which takes place on both sides of the moderator’s table, I’ll exercise the same fast and loose handling of the facts tonight.
The second reason comes completely out of a lack of desire to look up the facts and details for today’s post. Perhaps that reason also ties in with tonight’s debate.
Quality is Job 1.
I miss baseball, but I don’t.
This last spring was the first season Junior hasn’t played. He played from 2001 all the way through 2011. During several of those seasons, I coached the team. In other cases, I was relegated to the stands. I was fine either way.
This last season in the pros has shot right by me without my noticing it. I received updates on my phone throughout the season whenever the Astros or Rangers finished a game. Beyond that, I didn’t pay much attention.
I watched a little of the first two games of the NLCS over the last two days, however that was intertwined with watching my Texans get spanked and my Broncos run the table on the Chargers last night in the second half.
And then there was my dog Hope staring at me with great anticipation last night as I flipped between the two games. That occurrence in itself reminded me of a story which took place a few years ago involving a baseball and a dog.
Note to reader – Here’s where I get fast and loose with the facts.
A couple of years ago when the Boston Red Sox won their second World Series in about 150 years (give or take), there was question about the last ball that was thrown to win the series. It came up missing at the end of the game.
The league office did some research and viewed the TV footage and found the last person who had his grubby paws on the ball was the Red Sox pitcher who had thrown the last pitch. I don’t remember his name, so I’ll call him “Irish Jig Guy”. I call him that because he did one at the follow up parade I think.
Anyway, I think it was a few days later that Jig actually fessed up and had taken the ball. Whether the league took any disciplinary action I don’t know. Since I’m stretching things a bit, I’ll say sure. They fined his ass $.80 for the price of the ball.
So there you go. Jig has the ball.
A few months pass (I think), and Jig releases a statement about the ball. It seems that his dog (we’ll call him Fido) got a hold of the ball, let nature take it’s course, and chewed the living snot out of the ball, thus completely destroying it. I have no doubt what-so-ever that my dog Hope would have done the same thing. She’s eaten remotes, why not baseballs.
My only thought on the matter is a note to the superstitious Red Sox fans which grace this great country of ours. If trading Babe Ruth to the Yankees offered up the aforementioned 150 year curse (whatever) to the BoSox, wait until you see how long it takes your team to win another series after Fido chewed up one of your balls.
Man, I’d love to see that torn up, ratty old piece of crap on display in the Hall of Fame. The plaque underneath it could say something like “Even dogs love baseball”.
Speaking of chewing on balls, it’s time to go watch the debate.
